# Good humidor for under $100?



## Seanchovilla375

Hey,

I haven't yet purchased a nice looking humidor for back home. However Kozzman555 tells me I need to watch out buying a cheap one?

Any suggestions as to what I should get in the 100 cigar capacity range?


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## asmartbull

Hard to get a good 100 count for under 100.
I know this wasn't you question, but I would go with
tupperware or a small cooler until you figure out your needs.
To often guys buy a Hummie, only to find they out grow it in a cpl months. 
Also, think about the size of cigar you like as that will change the size of your desktop
I find 100 ct hold 1/3 that amount of robustos

Good luck,


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## Guest

Honestly man, if $100 is your humidor budget, I would skip the humidor concept altogether.

Get a small cooler that seals well, get some cigar boxes from a B&M, get some kitty litter (ExquisiCat® Crystals Fragrance Free Cat Litter - Cat - Sale - PetSmart), and a good hygrometer (I recommend this one: Cheap Humidors CaliberIII Digital Hygrometer).

Then just follow these setup instructions, and spend the rest of the money you saved on more cigars!
http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/cigar-accessory-questions/228557-how-build-coolidor.html

I will however say that I would not personally recommend using bleach to cleanse the smell from the cooler. Just give the interior a scrub down with baking soda and distilled water, rinse, and you should be good to go!


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## Seanchovilla375

So, whats a realistic price range for a humidor of that size that will do its job?
As I have heard about the Coolidor but would like a humidor for asthetic reasons as well as functionality.


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## Guest

I'd say in general, you would be looking at $150-$200 for a decent 100ct

Seriously, go for the coolidor setup


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## Michigan_Moose

Pale Horse said:


> I'd say in general, you would be looking at $150-$200 for a decent 100ct
> 
> Seriously, go for the coolidor setup


I agree, unless you are just dead set on that centerpiece, do a cooler.


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## kozzman555

I did some talking with him. He wants something that will look good sitting on his desk, so a coolidor is out for now. He just wants a humi that looks nice and will have a good seal. Obviously the "looks nice" is subjective, so any recommendations for brands would be great. Thanks guys.


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## Fuzzy

I too, had to have a desktop humidor. Thought it was cool to open the humidor and offer a cigar to visitors. Spent probably several hundred dollars trying to get a decent humidor and ended up with several wood boxes that are good for keeping crayons in.

Finally got a decent humidor from Cuban Crafters after exchanging one for another using their money back guarantee. The second one works perfect! It was a hassle to return but at the end of the story, I am happy with my humidor. It did take about six days to get stable at 75% and another two or three days with dry kitty litter to get down to where it is at now (63-65%)

I really like the drawer for storage of accessories. The hygrometer can be adjusted but it is crap and now only used to plug the hole. I also removed the humidifier and replace the green crap with kitty litter.

This is similar to the one I purchased.This one is on sale now.










I have since lost the desk, but the humidifier still works fine even if I can not see it.


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## ptpablo

If $100 is your budget then i recommend Cheap Humidors Cigar Humidor Cigar Accessories CheapHumidors.com i personally have the Amalfi for 2 years now and have absolutely no problem's with it. My suggestion to you is if and when you order from them you HAVE to do the seal test on it before you start the seasoning process. This way they will take it back no problem and replace it. Don't buy from fleebay has they have the same types of humidors but are mostly factory rejects. If you feel like splurging on a nice piece then i recommend waxing moon her on this site. Cost more then a $100 but you will have it in your collection and family for years to come.


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## TommyTree

kozzman555 said:


> I did some talking with him. He wants something that will look good sitting on his desk, so a coolidor is out for now.


He could just move a little west to Mississippi or Arkansas and a cooler would be a fine centerpiece. :biggrin:


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## Fuzzy

TommyTree said:


> He could just move a little west to Mississippi or Arkansas and a cooler would be a fine centerpiece. :biggrin:


Thanks, Tom! Beer just shot out my nose and all over the keyboard!


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## TonyBrooklyn

Seanchovilla375 said:


> Hey,
> 
> I haven't yet purchased a nice looking humidor for back home. However Kozzman555 tells me I need to watch out buying a cheap one?
> 
> Any suggestions as to what I should get in the 100 cigar capacity range?


Your friend offers sound advice buyer beware.
Good humidors in the price range you describe are the exception not the norm i am afraid.
Can you find one sure but purely based on luck unfortunately in that price category not much craftsmanship or good materials are used.


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## aroma

With inexpensive wooden humidors, poor performance is the norm; good performance is the exception. Also, be aware that you can get "faked out" by a humidor that starts out working well but doesn't work well long-term.

I bought 4 cheap wooden humidors in my first year (3 desktops and one small wooden travel humidor). I thought they were great, and I happily posted about them. It didn't occur to me that ambient humidity in my house from mid-spring to mid-fall was very close to my humidors' target humidity, so even a leaky humidor would look like it was performing well. Also, I was rapidly acquiring cigars, which normally arrive over-humidified, so I was, without realizing it, constantly adding moisture to my humidors.

When winter came, with its lower ambient RH, and my cigar acquisitions slowed, 3 of my 4 wooden humidors stopped holding humidity, requiring a recharge every 2 or 3 days. I quickly switched my storage strategy to wineador/coolerdor/tupperdor, which works great and is what I now recommend for almost everybody.

I did still have one small wooden desktop humidor, which held humidity acceptably through that first winter (needed a recharge, say, every 2 weeks). I wrote positive posts about that one a couple of times. Unfortunately, it's now gone through another winter, and it, too, now leaks humidity like a sieve. There is no observable explanation for its drop-off in performance: it still passes the paper test and the whoosh test with flying colors. It has no visible cracks or separations. It just doesn't hold humidity any more.

So I'm batting zero for 4 with cheap wood humidors. Call me once-burned-twice-shy (OK, 4-times-burned, but who's counting), but if I were dead-set on acquiring a 100-count wooden desktop humidor, I'd mainly be looking at $400 to $500 units from brands like Daniel Marshall or Adorini.


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## Vitulla

I picked up a Cuban Crafters Murchielago humidor off Amazon, for 105$. This humidor is very well built and the seal is TIGHT. After setting her up, She had held perfectly at 65%, with our tough Canadian winter till now. VERY HAPPY


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## lebz

Vitulla said:


> I picked up a Cuban Crafters Murchielago humidor off Amazon, for 105$. This humidor is very well built and the seal is TIGHT. After setting her up, She had held perfectly at 65%, with our tough Canadian winter till now. VERY HAPPY


Also Agree...my CC humidor looks great (on the computer desk... the lady likes it too).. seals awesome. The built in Hydrometer isn't the greatest but I am glad I bought this.

Original Humidors Cigar Humidor - CUBAN CRAFTERS

I got it for a better deal on Ebay


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## GoJohnnyGo

I would consider a cooler for storage built now. Then save the remainder off the 100 that you didn't spend and in a few weeks/months when you have the cash buy a higher quality desktop for presentation/aesthetics. 

(Possibly a smaller count since it would be cheaper but you'd have the cooler in the closet for storage.) Just my $0.2 also what I am doing myself.


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## rocketmann82

I have two desktops (125 & 100 count) and both are so full I couldn't shove another cigar in if I tried. They filled up before I knew what happened and rather than buy another humi, I just went with a large tuppidor. It's cheap, it works well, holds a lot of sticks and I have what I would have spent on a cabinet to buys more sticks with. Cuban Crafters sells pretty decent humi's for what your wanting to spend. I would also plan on getting a good Hydrometer and some beads/kitty litter while you are at it. After that, if looks are not an issue, I would go with a cooler/large tuppidor for bulk storage. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth, good luck on whatever you decide.


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## Blackham

May I suggest a Daniel Marshall Humidor? I`m sure it would be a great looking addition to your living room. Yes it is way over your budget you might think, but for an extra few hundred dollars you are buying yourself some comfortable sleep over the 5, 10, 20 years. Let me tell you it is a lot of stress to worry about some stupid numbers on your hygrometer every 2 hours, and I know you got other hobbies as well as work, family and social life, you don`t want to spend a huge amount of time on just maintaining the RH. You are investing on a tool that helps you to do the work, and part of the investment is to give you a peace of mind, If I have a car that requires service every 2 hours I`ll rather take the bus. This is coming from a DM owner,I have an Ambiente black matte 150ct sitting in my living for 2 years, it looks great, works great, only thing I need to do is refill the humidifer bi-weekly and occasionally wipe the dust off the humidor surface. 

If you think a DM humidor is still way out of your budget, I`ve heard Ashton makes good humidors, but never had first hand experience on them.


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## drscott

I found my wine cooler on CList for $80


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## johnb

i've been looking on CL and cant find anything


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## drscott

My basement never gets above 70 so I could use any type. I was going to get a cooler until I found it.


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## aroma

I started a thread a couple of days ago that's related to humidor performance: How thick is the bottom of your humidor?

If any of you have the time and inclination, I'd be interested in how your humidors measure up. If it interests you, please post in that thread. I'd be especially interested in measurements for some of the Cuban Crafters humidors. Thanks.


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